S01-E08 Geovana is a technician at Intel

Geovana works as a technician at Intel in Hillsboro, OR. She moved from Brazil to Oregon 5 years ago. Geovana graduated from a 2-year community college, then landed a job as a manufacturing technician at Intel. Now she’s working on advancing to become a Manufacturing Equipment Technician.

The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program.

Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.

Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.

Links from the show:

Meet Jesse, an Intel Manufacturing Technician | Intel
https://youtu.be/2ruLtAjjdV8

 A Day in the Life of Otis: An Intel Manufacturing Technician | Intel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juKOgtpD7P4&t=36s

 From Sand to Silicon: The Making of a Microchip | Intel
https://youtu.be/_VMYPLXnd7E

 Information about microchip manufacturing: Link directing to a PowerPoint file that provides an explanation about the steps involved to process wafers.
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/history/museum-making-silicon.html

Intel’s main website:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/homepage.html

See what Geovana is up to on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/geovana-silva-17b46a133/

The Micro Nano Technology Education Center (MNT-EC): https://micronanoeducation.org/

Episode Web Page: https://micronanoeducation.org/students-parents/talking-technicians-podcast/

Transcript

Peter Kazarinoff  0:02  
From MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center. This is Talking Technicians, the podcast about technicians, who they are, what they do and where they come from. I'm your host, Peter Kazarinoff. I teach technicians and engineers at Portland Community College. In each episode, you'll meet a working technician and hear their story. That means real interviews with real technicians about real jobs. At the end of each episode, you'll hear actions you can take, if you want to be a technician too. Geovana, welcome to Talking Technicians.

Geovana  0:45  
Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm really happy to be here.

Peter Kazarinoff  0:49  
I'm excited to talk with you about your experiences, both work and then what you went through at school. So before we get to that, tell me a little bit about yourself, where do you live and how long have you been there?

Geovana  1:02  
So I live in Hillsboro, Oregon for five years now. I'm already originally from Brazil. And I've been here since I moved to the US.

Peter Kazarinoff  1:16  
And what was it like moving from Brazil to Oregon?

Geovana  1:22  
It was very different. I used to live in a very big city. Very busy. And my career like academic career and my work was completely different. So it wasn't an new thing. I didn't speak much English. I had to study English when I came when it was nice. Now I like it very much.

Peter Kazarinoff  1:45  
And what did you do in Brazil before you came to Oregon?

Geovana  1:48  
I, in Brazil, I was a pharmacist. I had a couple of jobs like before graduating, I worked mostly in diagnostic medicine. And then I work in a compounding pharmacy. And then I got my finally my bachelor's degree in pharmacy and biochemistry in my last occupation was work, I was working with HIV research. And then I had to move because my husband found a job over here.

Peter Kazarinoff  2:18  
And do you care to share anything about your family? Who's in your household here?

Geovana  2:24  
Yeah, live me and my husband only. My husband also works for Intel but in a completely different area. He's a software engineer. And my, the rest of my family's still is in Brazil. They are living there.

Peter Kazarinoff 2:36
Have you gotten back to see them since you went to Oregon?

Geovana 2:40
I went in 2017. And I tried last year, but I couldn't. Let's see if it is a cold day allows me to.

Peter Kazarinoff  2:50  
I hope we're able to open up soon. So you said that you work at Intel? What's your job title? And where do you work there?

Geovana  2:57  
Yeah, I am a manufacturing technician in a area called lithography. Right now we kind of in a transition between manufacturing technician and manufacturing equipment technician, which basically, what we used to do the most was make sure that the wafers got process in your area and the - we have the supplies and the conditions that are necessary for that to happen. But right now we focusing more on the equipment side. So we think - we have machines, that process wafers that they're called tools. And those tools, we have to do preventive maintenance procedures, monitor procedures to make sure that the tool has good conditions to process the wafers in your area.

Peter Kazarinoff  3:49  
And for those that don't work at the chip industry like you do it Intel, what's a wafer?

Geovana  3:55  
A wafer is basically a it comes from us sand reaching silicone, and it makes a big cylinder of basically a metal that silicone and cuts this distilling there are many very thin layers. So wafer is basically a circle very thin made of - made of silicon.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:22  
And what are they look like? Are they shiny or they dull?

Geovana  4:25  
Yeah, they're very shiny. They're very few. If any of you go to the internet, you'll find many images, many content about it. It's a very it's a shiny plate like silver, very shiny.

Peter Kazarinoff  4:41  
And did you need your four year degree to get your technician position at Intel?

Geovana  4:48  
I would say no. I think is a good thing to have. But I don't think that was something that made me get the job, What made me get the job was the degree I had here.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:03  
That you earned here in Oregon. So if you're willing to share - how much would starting technicians at Intel make about?

Geovana  5:12  
Yeah, so I started in technician would make about $21 an hour. But this can change. If you're working on night shift, you can get a little bit more on top of that. Also is good to remember Intel have a lot of benefits. There are a lot of things, insurances and stuff. And also we have different bonuses throughout the year. So it's not just the $21 per hour.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:43  
So you've got things like health benefits and retirement benefits?

Geovana  5:46  
Health benefits, dental. There are many things.

Peter Kazarinoff  5:52  
And what kind of hours do you work?

Geovana  5:55  
Yeah, I work during day shift. So I work 7:30 through 8:00. I work Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and every other Wednesday. But Intel is 24-7. So there are basically four types of shifts two in the night, two in the morning. Yeah.

Peter Kazarinoff  6:24  
So you work 12 hours a day? Four days a week?

Geovana  6:28  
A day? Yes. four or three

days a week- depends of the week. 

Peter Kazarinoff  6:32  
And do you like that schedule?

Geovana  6:35  
Yes, um, I mean, it's, it's kind of heavy. Some people say, Oh, it's so many hours. But honestly, we have breaks and they are respected, And it's not like 12 hours enough have been very tired all the time. No. And also it's good because you have long weekends. So I have three day weekends or four day weekends, which I wouldn't have if I work full time.

Peter Kazarinoff  7:01  
And is there opportunity for advancement? You mentioned that you might be going from a manufacturing technician to manufacturing equipment technician? Are there opportunities for advancement at Intel?

Geovana  7:13  
Oh, yes. Oh, so once you get to work at Intel, you have training, and training, like to perform your job, like regularly. And also, there are opportunities for training, if you want to learn more. In our case, we actually kind of - we have to transition to the this new role. And also we getting training for it. But I think is always opportunity. If you want to grow more if you want to know more, you can talk to your manager and go and find more training.

Peter Kazarinoff  7:48  
So how did you become a technician, you mentioned your work experience, including working as a pharmacist, that's quite different than working at Intel. So what did you do in between?

Geovana  8:00  
So when I came to the US, I took English classes that then I took a lot of other classes just because I was trying to apply for pharmacy school. And then I gave up on pharmacy school and I decided to get a degree at PCC. I went to do an AAS degree green bio science technology in the Portland Community College. And also, I was not expecting to get a job at Intel from there. But I got very lucky. Intel made a round of interviews with the micro electronics program in our program. So other students had the opportunity to doing interview, and I got hired, luckily.

Peter Kazarinoff  8:40 
Congratulations.

Geovana  8:45  
Thank you.

Peter Kazarinoff  8:46  
What was it like coming from Brazil and going into a technician program? You mentioned you were in the biotechnology technician program.

Geovana  8:55  
Yeah. I think I was my - at least like my head was most focused on viruses and DNA and stuff like that. And when I got that job at Intel, I was quite terrified because I was afraid of - I don't know anything about chip manufacturing. I don't know anything about this area. I'm not an engineer. Like, but everything comes down to - you're going to find a way to use your skills in a lot of things that you know, that I know from my program of bioscience technology. In my, from my experience, I use at Intel a lot of things that I didn't even think I would. So you use some basic concepts like quality control, math, a lot of documentation that I think all degrees in some way have it. So it's a lot of skills that you already have, and you're going to apply - you're going to be fine I work like this. 

Peter Kazarinoff  10:02  
Do you work by yourself at Intel or in a team?

Geovana  10:05  
In a team? Yes.

Peter Kazarinoff  10:07  
And how did being in that technician training program prepare you for things like working with a team, or working with a supervisor, or doing reporting at the end of a shift?

Geovana  10:20  
Yeah, I think we learn a lot in the classroom about teamwork, and no one does anything alone. It's everything's made in parts, like Intel, at least has like a lot of complex things, you cannot do it alone. And at school is the same thing. Sometimes you have procedures that are so long, and you have to kind of divide activities. So I think this school made us, force us to do a lot of team work in a way that was really important for my work now. And also, I think, the way that you, we documented the way we have to do our reports and, and even in team work, like passing information from one to another colleague about what is going on. All those things are very important for a manufacturing technician job.

Peter Kazarinoff  11:13  
What was your first day like at Intel? Do you remember what you felt like the first day you went in?

Geovana  11:18  
Yeah, so my first day at Intel, I actually received a training, that's for all manufacturing technicians that go higher, and you don't even know where you're going to work. Because you have no idea how this thing is big and complex, so don't even know, then you'll receive, like, some basic training about chipmaking and other things about the company itself. And I was I was very afraid. And then it - the fear went away in a couple days. Then they, this, they, they're gonna send you to be trained in the area that you're going to work for. And then we start to understand all my area is responsible for this or that. Yeah, it was a little, I was a little scared. But once you're there, it's really, really nice.

Peter Kazarinoff  12:07  
What advice would you give current students or people who want to transition careers into a career like yours? What would you tell them?

Geovana  12:15  
Yeah, I know from personal experience, that it's not easy to transition careers. I suffered a little bit myself, because, like I said, I had no idea about chip manufacturing. And I came from a different area. And now I know how to enjoy it. So don't be afraid to transition. Because you probably know more than you think you know, about being a technician, whatever degree you have, you know, there are many skills that you're gonna use, and you're gonna learn, you're gonna understand how to use those skills in your favor. And don't be afraid - this is me, I enjoy a lot. And I came from an area that has nothing to do with this. So, I think is don't be afraid to do it is worth it.

Peter Kazarinoff  13:07  
How did your life change between being a student and then going to work as a technician?

Geovana  13:16
Similar in a way, I guess, because of the environment that we had in the classroom. Make is it similar, like teamwork and everything that I mentioned before, is just different. Like I would say, the time that you work and of course, you'll have different activities and your responsibilities. But it's pretty much a sequence of school is not like something Oh my god, that's so terrifying. No, you're gonna be trained to do something and everyday you're gonna go there and follow those procedures. You have documentation to follow, we have documentation to report is pretty much similar.

Peter Kazarinoff  14:11  
Would you like to share any links in the show notes that might help people understand what you do?

Geovana  14:19  
Yeah, I shared some links about - Intel has a YouTube channel that has a lot of resources about chipmaking - if you interested on learning more, it has, mostly has some videos about technicians that work at Intel. So basically shows a little bit how the fab is. Because a lot of people have no idea how the fab looks like and shows a little bit about their life and they talk about his schedules. And if you in your view and you visit Intel YouTube channel, has a lot of videos about different areas even like not even only manufacturing but other things.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:02  
And for those out there that might not know, what's a fab?

Geovana  15:07  
Yeah, so Intel for example here where I leave Intel have like four campuses, and two of them are fabs. So basically some manufacturing plant where we, we process wafers, and even if you look at Google and you're gonna see we have a lot of things and it's really a big city. That is the place where we produce wafers. So here in Oregon at least, we have two fabs, two of the campus that have structure of them.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:43  
Geovana, thank you so much for sharing your story with me and being on Talking Technicians.

Geovana  15:49  
Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Peter Kazarinoff  15:52  
Please keep in touch.

Geovana  15:54  
Thank you.

Peter Kazarinoff  16:00  
Talking Technicians is produced by MNT-EC the Micro Nano Technology Education Center through financial support from the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education grant program. Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation. Join the conversation. If you are working technician, or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talking technicians.org We're always looking out for great guests to share more stories with you.